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Sodiers Home

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Sodier's Home

Harold's mother, the grandmother, and Bartleby are selfish

characters.

 
In Ernest Hemingway's "Soldier's Home," Harold's mother
shows selfishness in that she refuses to understand his
changing behavior. Her son, Harold Krebs, is a young man who
is returning home from his tour of duty in France. The
overwhelming shock of his experiences at war molds Harold
into a different man. Harold wants to talk about how the war
has affected him. He is unable to tell his mother the
unvarnished truth about his battles because of the time
period in which they live. His mother has no concept of what
really happens in a war and this is evident when she says "I
know the temptations you must have been exposed to. I know
how weak men are. I pray for you all day long." She prays
for Harold so that he will be strong and fight off the
temptations of women. This is sickening to Harold, because
the desire of a woman is a minor fault compared to the
horrifying events that occur in the outbreak of war. Harold
cannot explain to his mother how the war affected him. He
betrays symptoms of his discontent with his behavior
hoping that she will make some kind of logical relation.
This drastic change in his behavior does not spark a
question of doubt in his mother's mind. The connection
between his recent return home and his changing behavior is
not made. Harold isolates himself from his family and his
community. He does not "want any consequences." The
psychologica...

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Submitted by: 123student
Date Submitted: 04-14-2009
Category: English
Words: 848
Pages: 3.39